![]() ![]() Some suggest these impressive ground carvings were intended to sacred messages to ancestors or drawings to gods. They outlined the symbols by heaping rocks pulled away from the center around the outside edges, creating sunken designs. ![]() Whatever artist(s) made the Blythe geoglyphs did so by scraping away dark desert stones to reveal a lighter colored soil underneath. If nothing else, the Blythe Glyphs are an expression of Native American art form and provide a window into the artistic abilities of the era. One of the more controversial geoglyphs appears to depict a horse. It measure 150 feet in length and has been damaged by vehicles over time. A snake intaglio depicts a rattlesnake whose eyes are captured in the form of two rocks. The animal figures are believed to be either horses or mountain lions. One of the large anthropomorphic figures ( Google Maps) It is the most controversial of the glyphs as some believe it was actually carved in the 1930’s although the prevailing view still is that it is much older. The Fisherman intaglio depicts a man with a spear, two fish below him, and a sun and serpent above. The last human figure is oriented north-south, its arms are outstretched, its feet pointing outward and has visible knees and elbows. A secondary figure, measuring 102 feet from head to toe, is of a male with a distinct phallus. The largest of the intaglios depicts a male figure or giant, measuring 171 feet. The Blythe Intaglios are situated in the barren landscape of the Colorado Desert ( Google Maps) The mysterious prehistoric geoglyph of the Paracas Candelabra.Children helped build mysterious 6,000-year-old moose geoglyph in Russia.However, newer research by the University of California, Berkeley has dated them to around 900 AD. In support of the latter, some of the giant figures are archaeologically associated with 2,000-year-old cliff dwellings. Since geoglyphs are difficult to date, it is impossible to know the age of when they were made, but they are estimated to be between 450 to 2,000 years old. In ancient times, ceremonial dances were held by natives in the area to honor the Creator of Life. While the meaning behind the glyphs remains unknown, according to Native Mohave and Quechan tribes of the area, the human figures represent Mastamho, the Creator of Earth and all life, while the animal figures represent Hatakulya, one of two mountain lions/persons who played a role in the Creation story. One possibility put forward is that they were constructed by the Patayan, who occupied the region from ca. ![]() The creators of the Blythe Intaglios are believed to be Native Americans that lived along the Colorado River, but there is no agreement as to which tribes made them or why. The anthropomorphic geoglyphs of the Colorado Desert are now protected with fences ( Wikimedia Commons)
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |